Friday, October 22, 2010

Classic mystery writer, Ross Macdonald, author of biographies

Ross Macdonald is the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar. It was December 13, 1915 Born in Los Gatos, California. His father, John Macdonald Millar, sometimes it was a newspaper editor, poet and athlete, and his mother Anne (Moyer) Millar, was a nurse. Some time later the family moved to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, as Ross was about four years, his father left the family.

Growing up, she lived with Ross and his mother and various relatives. Ross, thoughacademically inclined had a troubled youth. He drank and smoked too much, fought with his companions, was a petty thief and enjoyed the pool and gambling.

Ross's father was an insurance policy, enough to see the state for four years at the University of Western Ontario, where he received a teaching certificate. He also attended the University of Toronto for a year. He was an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, where he finished his studies. Hegraduated Phi Beta Kappa, with a doctorate in literature.

Ross Macdonald met Margaret Sturm, another aspiring writer, while in high school. Reconnected and married in 1938. Their only daughter, Linda died, 1970.

Ross is the U.S. Navy during World War II and was stationed in the Pacific off the coast of Southern California. When Margaret came to visit him, she fell in love with the area and made the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara home.

Ross Macdonald puts hisThe protagonist, detective Lew Archer philosophical rough edges, Santa Barbara, but changed the name of Santa Teresa. Many years later, another mystery writer Sue Grafton, did the same with his character, female detective Kinsey Millhone. Sue Grafton has written the introduction for the book, "Ross Macdonald, a biography," by Tom Nolan.

Ross began his writing career under his real name. His wife was to be prominent as a writer under the name Margaret voltageMillar, so he started to write under the name John Ross Macdonald. He later shortened to Ross because of possible confusion with another author, John D. MacDonald Macdonald.

Although Ross earned rave reviews during his career as a writer, it was not until the publication of "The Goodbye Look" in 1969, became a successful author in the United States and Europe. In 1973, the Mystery Writers of America named him Grand Master.

In 1981, Ross Macdonald was diagnosedAlzheimer's disease. It 'died in Santa Barbara at July 11, 1983.

Books by Ross Macdonald

Series: Chet Gordon (as Kenneth Millar)
The dark tunnel (1944)
Trouble Follows Me (1946)

Lew Archer
The Moving Target (1949)
The Drowning Pool (1950)
The way some people die (1951)
The smile Ivory (1952)
Find a victim (1954)
The barbarian Coast (1956)
The Doom (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard) (1958)
Galton Case (1959)
The woman Wycherly(1961)
The hearse zebra (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard) (1962)
The Chill (1964)
The Far Side of the dollar (1965)
Black Money (1966)
The Instant Enemy (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard) (1968)
The Goodbye Look (1969)
(The Underground Man (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard) (1971)
Sleeping Beauty (1973)
The Blue Hammer (1976)
The name is Archer (1955)
Archer in Hollywood (omnibus) (1967)
Lew Archer, Private Investigator 1977)

Omnibus:
ArcherGrande (1970)
The Lew Archer Volume One (1993)
The Lew Archer Volume Two (1994)
The Lew Archer Volume Three (1997)

Stand Alone Novels:
Blue City (1947) (as Kenneth Millar)
The three streets (1948)
Meet Me at the Morgue (1954)
The deal Ferguson (1960)
Archer in danger (1979)

Collections:
Strangers in Town: (2001) three secrets of newly discovered

No comments:

Post a Comment